Other people’s words about … young boys singing

When I was a boy and I sang, my voice felt to me like a leak sprung from a small and secret star hidden somewhere in my chest and whatever there was about me that was fragile disappeared when my mouth opened and I let the voice out. We learned, we were prisons for our voices.

From ‘Edinburgh‘by Alexander Chee

I love this image of singing, of the purity of young boys’ voices before they break, and of their song.

And there is no photograph in my collection, really, that I can illustrate this post with adequately, so instead I leave you with a link to a piece of music I love — not a song at all, but a sonata by Beethoven, one that never fails to move me. Despite its overtones, these days, of hackneyed and saccharine overuse, the Moonlight Sonata in its essence is a gorgeous piece.

I think Beethoven would have understood and known that leak that springs from a small and secret star hidden somewhere in [your] chest, whether you are a boy singing or a woman listening to a beautiful piece of music. Don’t you?

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2 thoughts on “Leak”

Nice, expressive quote.
MS is a beautiful piece. I had to smile because only this morning a friend of mine posted a short video she took while waiting in the airport in Paris of a woman playing this very same piece. Apparently, they have pianos for public use – a great way to pass the time and soothe the weary traveler.

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